NZ_24 - A South Island Adventure Odyssey

glipschitz

Long Timer
As in bike-related stuff/ general stuff/ tech stuff/...?
Yeah, all of the above.
Helps planning for other trips easier.

I think we all have a tendency to pack the kitchen sink, then end up not using half of what we took.

I find that learning from others is the best way and helps rationalise what you might take next time.
 

glitch

Mapping the next ride...
Staff member
For any trip that involves airtravel, the borders are set by luggage allowances.

International flights carry a 23-25kg limit, plus 7kg cabin luggage, depending on airline/route/etc.
(some up to 30kg checked luggage...or 2 pieces of checked luggage for biz/1.class etc etc)
Domestic AUS flights are 20kg for checked luggage.
Tassie Dave had a domestic Virgin flight from/ to Hobart before his MEL-CHC international leg. Meaning, he was capped @20kg for the entire affair.

With that in mind, 20-23kg isn't a lot, considering the weight of a standard suitcase of around 4-5kg.....leaving 15-19kg max for actual luggage.
Taking one's own softpanniers as checked luggage (suitcase replacement), the suitcase-penalty shrinks to 1.5-2kg total, allowing for more useful gear to be packed.
Same for using other bike luggage like rolltop-waterproof bags etc. that weigh very little, are tough enough to survive airline handling, and strap onto the back of a bike.
If required, the same goes again for fuel-bladders to boost the reach of rental bikes. (needs certain type of bladder to 100% contain fumes re: aircraft security/ sniffer dogs).

Helmet goes as cabin luggage (stuffed with gloves/neckwarmer etc), as does a backpack/cabin-case/sports bag etc.
Boots and jacket may have to be worn to sort-of bypass the weight or size limits to some extent.
Wearing bike-boots means one needs more time through airport security checks, as the boots have metal parts that make the scanners light up like a Xmas tree.
3liter Camelbak bladder (if much of the riding is backcountry/ off-grid) in suitable backpack to double as cabin-luggage/ shopping bag at the end of the riding day etc.

So much for the general limits.... and the overall theme to have as many multi-purpose items as possible to cut on doubling up.

1) Apart from the needed riding-gear, general clothes to last one week without washing.

4 x T'shirts,
jox+socks for a week (plus 1 emergency set in the cabin luggage if flights get stuck/delayed/cancelled/rescheduled etc)
1x jeans or such
1x tracky daks (which can double as "thermals/ Long Johns/PJ-pants on cold nights" if needed)
1x jumper
1x hat/ cap
1x small pack/ bag/tube of washing powder or such to wash smalls by hand as needed....also handy when there is a washer/dryer in the unit/ place rented for the night...but no suds available anywhere by 9pm at night!


2) electronics and gadgets to suit taste/ requirements

chargers, cables, mains-adapters for different countries (on non-motorcycle trips we take a 4-6x Aussie powerboard, so we only need a single mains-adapter)
SIM-cards, SD-cards, spare batts, brackets+supports+ cabling to mount personal phones/ GPS etc to rental bikes (or a handful of paper maps in my case).
GPS/mobile/photo-gear/lappy etc to suit.
Old-Schoolers may have a physical folder with all and any pre-booked accom/rides/rentals//tickets/passes/etc print-outs.
 

glitch

Mapping the next ride...
Staff member
3) Bike stuff
Talking about overseas travel and rental bikes, it's impossible to predict what bike exactly one finishes up with.
Nearly everyone wants to jig their luggage/ handlebar/ controls/ GPS-Phone brackets and electricals to suit them best.
That means bringing along parts and bits one deems necessary, tools to rig/ fix those items on the rental bike (be aware of Torx-screws that ever more bike manufacturers are using...own bike might not have them, but the rental could).

Here's what we took this time.... knowing exactly what bikes the rentals were and what type of riding and terrain to expect (important, as I would pack differently for a few weeks on mainly made roads around Europe and/ or bikes with tubeless wheels etc).

Toolroll (Marty, Dave and self)
Tyre repair gear (organized CO2 cartridges to bead tyres (airline security throws a fit if detected)... and spare tubes (too heavy to carry in luggage) to come with the bikes)
Generic cable repair set
Multitool/ Leatherman
Gaffer tape / Gorilla tape (fabric-backed)
Duct tape (can be cut to size to act as insulation tape)
Bunch of cableties, various sizes
valve tools to remove tyre valve and CO2 cartridge valve head
spare cam buckle/occy/AndyStraps to hold bike luggage/ panels/ fairings etc in place after pretzlers
8m 12mm rope/ towrope
Extensive First Aid Kit/ Meds pack


4) General stuff

Leatherman, some paperclips, some safety pins, elastic travel washing line, plunger coffee mug, some elastic bands/rubbers, spare shopping bags (for wet/ dirty stuff?), some microfibre towels,
Spare ziplock bags (to isolate/ waterproof?) important stuff like passport/ mobile etc, Dave's "floating bag" incident on the Nevis proves the point.
(not to mention Ant's podcast-listening while under the shower....a Ziploc may likely have negated the need for the new phone W-)

Also, in this case, we took sleeping bags, light-to-medium weight, possibly expecting some very basic accom/cabin/ DoC hut or such.
Came close in the Hostel in Westport, but didn't need them after all.
Another item I wouldn't take for a Euro-road-ride....but we have needed them on back country rides in the past. Very bulky item.

As a general rule, whatever fits (weight and bulk) into an average suitcase/ big sports bag, will fill a set of bike soft/hardcases with a bit of an overflow into tankbag and/or topcase / top-bag.

Unpacking at home what was hastily thrown and strapped together in Christchurch for the flight back, I was quite surprised to spend about 3 hours to tear everything down and put everything back into its normal spot around home and garage.
 

glitch

Mapping the next ride...
Staff member
Not quite all pics were at hand when I started this write-up.
Ant's shots came in a few days later....all 7.1gig of 'em :shock::shock:

By which time the story had progressed to day 4 or 5 or something.
Here are Ant's shots of the first few days...and man, there are some absolute pearlers! :2thumbs-up: :glu
There will likely be a bit more storytelling and more reflective comments than at the start of this thread :)

Day 1....and from memory, nobody pretzeled it for some strange reason:icon-clap-:although I came close, hitting some boulders in the Okuku River crossing.
Just fudged through...and happy for it.
Some of us running out of fuel (what the hell is a fuel cock, mate ...and this "RES" marking.... on those dinosaurs??) later in the afternoon.
Obviously some of the tanks weren't quite full when we picked up the bikes the day before....forgot to check!

Lees Valley and Culverden Stock Route to Hanmer Springs

Checking the days' route just before take-off.

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...and straight into a shit-ton of prime NZ gravel in the Lees Valley.

Cautious and apprehensive then....60-90kmh stuff a week later.

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Winding down the Lowry Peaks Range towards Culverden never gets boring!!



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Hanmer Sunset



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glitch

Mapping the next ride...
Staff member
Glorious morning at Hanmer....and there are 2 choices to run up the hills in the back of town to access either/ or the classic "Molesworth" or the equally classic, but more technical and rough "Rainbow" roads (which was still closed at the time).
North-west out of Hanmer is Jacks Pass, basically just a good, 1.5lane gravel road, well maintained, 2wd easy, no water crossings.
North-east out of Hanmer is Jollies Pass, a strict dual-track, steep-ish, rocky and more technical/ slow variant with a couple of creek crossings.
High-clearance 2wd after the grader's been through....or 4wd, washed-out, bermed, bath-tubbed and half-way overgrown with lots of water runnels and waterholes....like this time.
I'd never seen it as rough as that.

Tassie Dave thought so too.
Went through the waterhole ok.... then skewered offline into the broom-bushes before tipping over. Needed 3 sets of muscle to drag the jammed-in DR out of the tough scrub.

Splat #1 for the day, barely 20mins in and the breakfast-bagel still wedged down the gullet. :bs

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Just a few k's further, Jollies Pass ends on the Molesworth Rd.
Turn left and find the turnoff down Jacks Pass back into Hanmer in ~7 or 8 k's .
Continue past Jacks Pass.... and run north the 90km up the Rainbow Rd.

....
or
....
turn right here for the Molesworth Rd., 170km to the coastal SH1 Highway near Blenheim.
We'll take that one, this time.
Time to cut loose the crew for everyone to do their own thing and run their own pace.
Can't really get lost here....


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Getting the hang of this deep gravel shyte. Gero on the gas....a swollen Clarence River on the right.



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Bridge across the Clarence near the Molesworth Homestead.....70k's down, 100k's to go....splat#2 for the day down in the grassy meadows when I try to get off a wobbly parked bike and the boot catches the seat.
On my arse like a flipped-over bug... with the bike coming after me to finish the job. :LOL:

....and Tassie-Dave is missing, fark!@
What'd I say?? Can't get lost here? :banghead:


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Should've bloody remembered, aye?....good, old Dave can get lost in his own pants-pocket! :icon-muawahaa-:
Beats me, how he ever found his way out of the womb!@!


Never paid attention in the past...but here the Clarence Rivers veers towards the coast and a new set of ridges and valleys.
And the road flips across a shallow saddle into the neighboring valley, following the next river.

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Sometimes it's a little relief to see other folks on/ along that road...it can get pretty lonely out there despite the well-defined road and the occasional signs of human existence.

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Zuckerbaron

Tour Pro
Day 1....and from memory, nobody pretzeled it for some strange reason:icon-clap-:although I came close, hitting some boulders in the Okuku River crossing.
Just fudged through...and happy for it.

Let me think? ...... Yeah now I remember, we were coming down Lees Valley Road and then Okuku River Road and the Okuku had two or three branches in the riverbed. They looked easier as they were. Near the finish line Pete decided to do a small turn for the spectators.

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Tassie Dave favors the straight line

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....so did Marty

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Zuckerbaron

Tour Pro
...and straight into a shit-ton of prime NZ gravel in the Lees Valley.

Cautious and apprehensive then....60-90kmh stuff a week later.
For sure the first NZ gravel made me feel a bit unstable o_O Hey man, is it possible that there is something wrong with the bearings? :unsure:

But that was nothing compared to the marbles two weeks later on the road following the east bank of Lake Pukaki. :2thumbs-up:
 

glitch

Mapping the next ride...
Staff member
That's NZ for you. They've never skimped on that stuff. Worst is coming around a blind corner with a fantastic view across the landscape....and the truck had started to dump a fresh load 3/4 through the bend only a few days before.
You go from marbles-to-ankle-deep on a committed line...no escape :eek:
 

Williamson

Part of the furniture

I hate 'em!

That was my undoing on the Great Alpine Road in Mar '23, my fault because I slowed to 40km/h (as per the road work speed limit) and then even slower. If I had continued at 100km/h, I could have got through the soft patch of gravel & stone unscathed. Alternatively, the outcome coulda been a lot worse.
 
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